A Few of My Writing Resources by Lorrie Orr

April's prompt is all about Writing Resources. How do you fill your creative container? How do you strengthen your craft? What writing resources do you use? Share books and publications, quotes, podcasts, and other resources you’ve found helpful.

Please remember that if you have difficulty writing to a particular prompt, you are free to write something else with a writing life focus.

Resource: a useful or valuable possession or quality that a person or organization has, for example, money, time, or skills

When I'm stuck for something to write, I often find definitions help me get started. A dictionary is definitely a resource, along with a thesaurus, and The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. The latter is useful for matters of grammar and punctuation.

Dozens, hundreds, even thousands of resources useful to the writer abound in libraries and on the internet. The key is to discover which resources are most useful to me. A search engine is a great resource and I can quickly scroll through the various suggested sites to see which might pique my interest or fulfill a need.

I write some things by hand on paper, but most of my writing is done on a computer, specifically my Surface Pro 8, a cross between a tablet and a desktop. With it I can write anywhere. I use Microsoft Word as my writing tool and find it very useful. Another tool I use is my iPhone, useful for jotting down thoughts on the go or for taking photos of things I don't want to forget such as signs, logos, etc.

My greatest resource is my mind. Without that unseen, complex part of me that's hard to define, I am a shell. With my mind I see, hear, taste, touch, and feel. My mind motivates my behaviour and my emotions. Just thinking of all those synapses constantly firing in my brain is enough to make my mind explode. I am "fearfully and wonderfully made." When my mind is in tune with God's Spirit, it is indeed a marvelous thing.

Since my mind is so important, I must care for it properly so it will serve me well throughout my life. I must nourish it carefully, minimizing the garbage that can hinder its function. I am careful about what I put into my mind, focusing on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, as the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4. Things that fit those descriptive words in my life become more resources for my mind to employ in writing.

I am also cognizant that my mind needs rest and relaxation. During stressful times of life, I am learning to pull back and let my mind recuperate. Time away from writing is just as important as the writing itself. A good night's sleep is something I appreciate more and more. My mind needs gentleness as well as occasional reminders to "do the next thing".

Tea is my hot drink of choice when I sit at my computer. In summer it's a glass of cold water with sprigs of mint or lemon balm. A comfortable chair and a table at just the right height are useful, although I can sit on the couch and write, too. Being in a good position helps me to focus on my writing rather than my physical state.

Creation is also an immensely powerful resource. While walking this morning I thought about how so many people play music or listen to podcasts while walking. I don't. My mind is full to overflowing with thoughts, prayers, songs, and stories. When I write, I find that mental pictures absorbed from what I've seen in nature often provoke a written response.

These are just a few of the things that help me to write.

I could include a vast number of websites, blogs, SubStack writers, and more in this blog. But I'll leave that to you. What resources help you to write?

Lorrie Orr writes from her home on Vancouver Island,

finding beauty and grace in the natural landscape.

Her memoir of 21 years in Ecuador will soon be published,

and you can find more of her writing on SubStack and her blog.

Resources for Review Day

It's REVIEW DAY here on the blog!

Did you even know that we had a regular day each month set aside for reviews? It's true! Unfortunately, not many of our members take advantage of this.

If you have read a good book - a book that you think would be helpful for writers, or one written by a member -  please contact me (the moderator!) and let me know. I would love to see this day FULL each month!

I am in the process of reading several good books, but did not get around to writing a review yet. One is called PRODUCTIVITY FOR AUTHORS by Joanna Penn and so far it is excellent. I plan to share my review once I'm finished.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share another resource. The Winter issue of FellowScript, was chock full of resources -  both online and books. There were several reviews, too. Despite the many fantastic suggestions, I was almost overwhelmed by all the suggestions and didn't really take the time to research them further. However, now is the time to go back and check out some of those links!

I must admit that I love getting the hardcopy of FellowScript in the mail every month, but this particular issue shows why the pdf version is also very valuable. It is easy to go into the online version and click on all those links - something you can't do with the hardcopy! And... may I remind you that ALL MEMBERS now receive the e-version of FellowScript as a bonus for being a member - even those that also subscribe to the hardcopy version.

Why not take some time during this season of 'self isolation' and dig a little deeper into the many wonderful offerings available.

What do you do for a LIVING? ... by Jocelyn Faire

     I have been doing a lot of living in the last few years, perhaps I am collecting material for my next writing project, or perhaps I am refuelling my soul after a long depletion. There are seasons of life and seasons of writing life.

     When I express thoughts, my desire is to bring hope and light into dark places and because of that I need to be filled with my own hope and light in order to spill out encouragement. When I pondered this month's topic I recognized that what I need for writing is my own source of inspiration. Inspiration is defined online as "the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative; the quality of being inspired; a sudden brilliant creative or timely idea; the divine influence believed to have led to the writing of the Bible." While not competing with the writers of scripture, I realize that some of the people I share with will never open a bible and I want my words to draw them into a quest for truth.

     When I first retired as a nurse, my mother would usually ask me, "So what are you doing now?" I would tell her about this or that, and say I am also writing. She would then ask, "Are you getting paid for any of this?" To me the message was, if you are not being paid, it had no value. In my mother's defence, her work supported the family in my growing up years, so she wondered how I could make ends meet without a paying job. I have stopped apologizing in my life for taking the time to sit by rivers, or in the presence of nature's beauty. Time spent in prayer and processing life is time well spent, it is also necessary for writing. Now I reformat the question "What do you do for a living?" into what do I do to make life alive. There is no doubt in my mind that our writing improves with passion for living. Simply existing is not enough. I'm after the abundant life that Jesus spoke of in John 10.
  
But, how do I move from existence to abundance?

♪♪ … when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad. ♪♪ from The Sound of Music

Here are some of my favourite inspiration and writing resources:

Beauty, especially in nature.

Artistically prepared foods.

A park bench along the river.

A good cup of coffee. (Goes well with park bench)

Good walking shoes, as one should walk a lot. I concur with 

Frederick Nietzsche who said All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.

A place to observe people.

Eyes wide open.

Second hand stores. I used to volunteer in one, and experienced some of the most interesting moments.

A good bicycle.

Kayak or canoe to be on the water.

A camera to create artistic shots for posting.

A positive attitude.

Warm clothing for cooler days.

A good cup of tea, good books, good poetry.

Travel-especially cultural travel broadens the outlook.

Because of where my daughter lives and works, I have visited some interesting countries, and met many wonderful women of varied faith backgrounds. 

Google for searching quotes and sources.

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music—the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.   Henry Miller 

Jocelyn is the author of Who is Talking out of My Head- Grief as an Out of Body Experience.  She is on a quest for Beauty in Life.